Human Hothouse Spurs Longest Coral Die-Off on Record

Posted on February 23, 2016 by GarryRogers

It’s like a bad dream from which one cannot wake.

The big coral die-off began in the Western Pacific as a massive ocean temperature spike built up during 2014. Back then, ocean heat accumulation had hit a very high ramp. A vicious, century-and-a-half long increase in atmospheric greenhouse gasses re-radiated greater and greater portions of the sun’s energy hitting the Earth — transferring the bulk (about 90 percent) to the world ocean system.

(A report out today from AGU finds that the world is now experiencing its longest coral die-off event on record. Image source: AGU.)

By 2015, as one of the strongest El Ninos on record began to extend its influence across the globe, a broad region stretching from the Western Pacific, through the Central Pacific and on into the Eastern Pacific and Caribbean were all experiencing mass coral die-offs. Into early 2016, die-off events again expanded taking in Australian waters and sections of the Indian Ocean off…

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Malthus was right. Now what?

Posted on February 22, 2016 by GarryRogers

“Saturday marked the 250th anniversary of the birth of Thomas Robert Malthus. I would like to wish him many happy returns.

“And he does keep on returning, doesn’t he, despite those who say he is wrong or passé.

“His Essay on the Principle of Population argued that, if left unchecked, human population growth would encounter limits: “The power of population is indefinitely greater than the power in the Earth to produce subsistence for man.” He foresaw famine, disease and much suffering, especially among the poorest. But in addition to these “negative checks,” he also recognized “preventive checks” like limiting birthrates and later marriage. As a cleric, he advocated “the chaste postponement of marriage.” From: montrealgazette.com

GR: Missed this, but it’s more a discussion than “breaking News.”

Invasive Species and the Bighorn Sheep Die-off in Montana Mountains, Nevada

Posted on February 20, 2016 by GarryRogers

Invasive Species

GR: Human-introduced animals, plants, and disease organisms have destroyed many species and ecosystems. This aspect of the human impact on nature became a global disaster in the 1500’s as we began crossing the oceans. In the lands we reached, we rampaged about with no thought of the seeds stuck to our boots or the diseases carried by our livestock. Then we developed nature. We cut the soil and filled it with pipes and wires and then we entombed its microorganism ecosystem with pavement. We damned streams, dried up springs, cut the forests, stripped the land with cattle and sheep, and we poisoned the water and air. Now comes our grand slam: We’ve added sufficient greenhouse gasses to the atmosphere to give our climate warmer temperatures, droughts, fires, and stronger storms.

How do we react to all that we’ve done? In the current time of competition between oil producers, for example, the temptation to burn more of the cheaper gasoline doesn’t horrify us, no, we call the lower prices a consumer blessing.

And so, in all that we do, our species appears to be striving for maximum destruction of earth ecosystems. Here are a few essays I wrote about how this works with invasive plants.

The following article is by Ken Cole on the Wildlife News website (February 19, 2016).

Bighorn sheep photo copyright by Ken Cole

“On Sunday and Monday, February 14-15, 2016, USDA Wildlife Services took to the skies and shot the remaining 24 bighorn sheep in the Montana Mountains of northwest Nevada at the request of Nevada Department of Wildlife.

“While the exact source of the disease outbreak is not known, it is not surprising that the bighorn sheep in this area are suffering this fate because there are two domestic sheep grazing allotments – the Bilk Creek allotment and the Wilder-Quinn allotment – in the middle of this area and BLM ignored the disease threat that they pose to bighorn sheep.

“In 2012 the BLM began the permit renewal process for one of the allotments – the Bilk Creek allotment – and Western Watersheds Project submitted comments notifying them of our concern about the risk that domestic sheep posed to bighorn sheep in this area. It is well know that domestic sheep are carriers of pathogens that result in deadly pneumonia to bighorn sheep and that even just one nose-to-nose contact between these related species can result in a disease outbreak that commonly kills up to 90% of a herd and kills the offspring of the remaining animals for up to a decade.

“In 2013 the BLM issued the Final Environmental Assessment that dismissed those concerns . . . . ” Read more at: http://www.thewildlifenews.com/2016/02/19/bighorn-sheep-die-off-in-montana-mountains-nevada-is-it-any-wonder.

West Coast US Cities Sue Monsanto over Toxic Chemicals

Posted on February 19, 2016 by GarryRogers

Last week, Seattle, Washington became the latest addition to the list of cities filing lawsuits against multinational corporation Monsanto, joining San Diego, San Jose, Oakland and Berkeley in California, along with Spokane, Washington. These efforts, led by San Diego-based law firm Gomez Trial Attorneys, aim to extract tens of millions of dollars from the agrochemical company for knowingly promoting the severely hazardous line of polychlorinated biphenyls, more commonly known as PCBs. www.globalresearch.ca

GR: Hooray!! It’s about time. It always strikes me as a disgrace that our government regulators can’t do their jobs and we have to use other resources to resolve problems. Monsanto and the other major chemical companies have no concern for the damage they do to all animals including humans. Please share this news, and add updates to the comments. Thank you. Garry

Seven million hectares of forests have been lost in Argentina over the past 20 years

Posted on February 19, 2016 by GarryRogers

Between 1998 and 2006, the deforested surface of Argentina was of almost 3,000 hectares –the equivalent of 250,000 hectares a year or one hectare every two minutes.
A forest law was passed in march of 2007, despite opposition by some lawmakers from the largely deforested northern provinces.
The funds assigned by the Argentinian Congress for forest protection in 2016 are 23 times less than what is established by the national forestry norm. news.mongabay.com

GR: Drought here, harvest there and the forests disappear.

March 9: Most Important Climate Lawsuit Ever | Our Children’s Trust’s Fundraiser

Posted on February 18, 2016 by GarryRogers

“On March 9, the U.S. District Court will hear arguments on the most important climate case ever to be heard in a court of law against the government most responsible for climate change.

“We need your help to insure that all 21 youth plaintiffs, and Dr. James Hansen as official guardian for all future generations, are in court on that day, when the eyes of the court and of the nation will be upon these young people.

“The March 9 arguments will determine if the court will allow the youth’s claims that they have a fundamental constitutional right to be free from the dangers posed by greenhouse gas pollution, and that the government has a public trust obligation to protect the atmosphere and climate system for the benefit of future generations, to proceed to trial.

“It is critical that all 21 of the youth plaintiffs be present before the federal court on March 9 to . . . .” www.crowdrise.com

GR: Do governments have a public trust obligation to protect the atmosphere and climate system for the benefit of future generations? The outcome of this suit will have global consequences. Please make a contribution to show your support.

The beetles: eighty-nine million acres of abrupt climate change

Posted on February 17, 2016 by GarryRogers

dying forest Higher temperatures in North America have contributed to a pine beetle infestation that has decimated millions of forest acres. www.truth-out.org

GR: If you can make it through the muzzy prose, you find that we are losing our forest ecosystems. Right now.

Wolverine Watchers 2: The Sequel – Defenders of Wildlife Blog

Posted on February 17, 2016 by GarryRogers

As heavy snows blanketed the ground of Western Montana during the holiday season and into the New Year, the 2016 Wolverine Watchers project kicked off with an enthusiastic “Grrr!” www.defendersblog.org

GR: Citizen naturalists performing duties for the Earth.

Help save Britain’s seas from governments who make a mockery of marine conservation | George Monbiot

Posted on February 15, 2016 by GarryRogers

“Governments take the advice they want to hear. As they seek to avoid trouble and find the path of least resistance, they often look for advice that meshes with the demands of industrial lobbyists.

“This problem has afflicted the life of the sea for many years. Governments consult the scientists who tell them that high catches of fish are sustainable, and ignore more cautious assessments. This allows them to get the fishing lobby off their backs, while claiming to have based their decisions on science. Bad advice from scientists and selective hearing by government were among the factors that led to the collapse of the Grand Banks cod fishery off Newfoundland.

“One of the most destructive industries humankind has developed is scallop dredging. Scallop dredges are rakes with long steel teeth that are towed over the seafloor, ripping out not only scallops, but also much of the life and structure of the seabed. They have wrecked habitats all around our coasts.” www.theguardian.com

GR: Monbiot begins by pointing out that governments act on behalf of commercial interests. It’s the same everywhere. Elected to public office, humans gain power and enter the society of the powerful. They become friends with industry and development. Do people with the moral strength to refuse this transformation avoid politics, or are there just too few that have the strength to fill the available government posts?